Cane-mill.



PATENTBD SEPT. 12, 1905.

J. P. GOLDEN.

CANE MILL. APPLICATION FILED MAY27, 1904.

UNITED s'rnrns PATENT OFFICE.

CANE-MILL.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 12, 1905.

Application filed May 27,1904. Serial No. 210,084..

To all whmn it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN PORTER GOLDEN, a resident of Columbus, in the county of Muscogee and State of Georgia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Cane- Mills; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to an improvement in cane-mills, the object of the invention being to provide an improved mill of the three vertical roll type, with juice cavity or receptacle and discharge-spout of comparatively large area and located in a plane below the mill proper and in such relation to the rolls as to insure the passage of all juice into the cavity or receptacle, and, further, to provide improved mounting for the rolls, improved means for maintaining the mill comparatively clear, and improved casing for the mill.

With these and other objects in view the invention consists in certain novel features of construction and combinations and arrangements of parts, as will be more fully hereinafter described, and pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is an isometrical view of a complete mill. Fig. 2 is a similar view of the mill-bottom. Fig. 3 is a fragmentary view, in horizontal section. of the mill. Fig. f is a fragmentary View in vertical section. Fig. 5 is a diagrammatical View illustrating the relation of roll contact to juice-cavity. Fig. 6 illustrates relation of gear-teeth and relation of turn-plate scraper to rolls. Fig. 7 is a view in side elevation of the feed-box, and Fig. 8 is a view in front elevation thereof.

1 represents the base or bottom of my improved mill, which comprises a single casting made without the necessity of coring, provided with cavities 2 for journal-bearings of smaller rolls 2 and 2 and a cavity 3 for the journal-box or larger roll 3 and a juice-receiving cavity or receptacle 4 between said journal-bearing cavities and having a juicedisc'harge spout 5 projecting outward beyond the end of the casing.

Heretofore it has been customary to provide bridges across the end of the cavities 2, which I dispense with.

The bottom casting or plate 1 has an upwardly-projecting flange 6 around the same, with the exception of the central portion of one end where the spout 5 is located and also at one side where the pressed canes escape, and is made on the inner face of flange 6, with a series of lugs 7 extending up above the flange to hold the side sections 8 of the easing in correct position on the flange. The top plate or casting 9 is provided with flange and lugs in like manner, so that when bolts 10 are passed through alined openings in the top and bottom plates and securely clamped by nuts the parts of the casing will be firmly and rigidly secured together and practically inclose the rolls and operative parts of the mill.

The journals or shafts of all the rolls are mounted in boxes located in the cavities 2 and 3, and the upper ends of the journals for rolls 2 and 2 project into boxes 11 on the top, which have suitable bearings therein with which set-screws l2 engage. Similar setscrews engage the lower bearings of these rolls, so that by adjusting the screws the rolls can be moved toward or away from the larger roll 3, and thereby regulate the pressure on the cane.

It is customary in three-roll cane-mills to set the face of the first feed-roll slightly apart from the large feed-roll face, the object being to crack the cane to better prepare it for the second feed-roll, the face of which is screwed tightly against the face of the large roll. In other mills this is accomplished by setting the gear-driving rolls out of pitch. WVhile a slight variation in location of pitch-circles hardly affects the working of the involute teeth which I use, it is obvious that the best point of tooth contact is on the pitch-line,

while in the case of the common cycloidal tooth ordinarily used it is evident that being out of pitch contact is a serious fault. I overcome this difficulty by making the first feed roll. 2* approximately three-eighths of an inch smaller than the diameter of the pitchcircle of its driving-gear, as shown, thus always having contact on the pitch-circle of gear.

The boxes 11 have suitable covers 13 and are adapted to contain lubricant-saturated waste to lubricate the bearings.

The journal or shaft 1 L of the larger roll projects up through a bearing 15 in the top and constitutes the drive-shaft, to which motion is transmitted in any approved manner.

On the journals of all of the rolls gears 16 are secured and are preferably of the size shown with relation to the diameter of the rolls and have teeth preferably of the shape illustrated to positively drive the rolls when the shaft or journal 14 is turned regardless of the adjustment of the rolls. Between the smaller rolls is what I term a turn-plate 17, which iscof the general triangular shape in cross-section shown to permit its insertion and removal-between the gear-teeth. This turn-plate 17 is made with a curved face to direct the canes from between two rolls to and between the others and has comparatively sharp edges to engage and scrape the smaller rolls. An extension or enlargement 18 is provided at the upper end of the turnplate above an irregular opening 17 through which the plate can be readily removed and inserted, and said enlargement is adapted to cover said opening and has a shoulder at its rear edge seated on the top, and as said shoulder, which I designate by the reference-numeral 19, is in a vertical plane in rear of the main portion of the turn-plate the latter will by gravity always be maintained in close contact with the smaller rolls to effectually scrape and clean them.

To clean the large roll and one of the smaller rolls, I provide spring-scrapers 20, which are bent around the bolts 10, bear against the casing sides, and have their free edges against the rolls to clean the same.

The central side section of the casing has a central opening 20 for the admission of canes 21 and is provided on its inner face with a guide-frame 22, comprising upper and lower inwardly-projecting guideplates to prevent the canes being fed too high or too low on the rolls to clog the gears or run off the lower end of the rolls and waste the juice, and said guideplates are connected by side flanges 23 to strengthen them and assist in properly directing the canes.

Around the large roll journal-cavity 3 a circular upwardly-projecting flange 24: is provided to prevent the passage of juice into the bearing, and said flange has an offset portion 25 for the admission of lubricant to the bearing. The large roll is provided at top and bottom with an annular flange 26, projecting beyond the meeting edges of the small rolls to prevent deflection of the canes up or down, and it will be seen that with my improvements the juice-receptacle is of such size and shape that it is located below the contacting or squeezing faces of the rolls, thereby compelling the juice to fall into the juice-receptacle and not onto the platform above the same.

The side sections of the mill-casing at the spout end thereof are made with an opening 27 of comparatively large area, which permits ready removal of clogging material without interrupting the operation of the mill and also permits lubricant to be supplied to the bearings for the smaller rolls through this opening.

A great many slight changes might be made in the general form and arrangement of the parts described without departing from my invention, and hence I do not restrict myself to the precise details set forth, but consider myself at liberty to make such slight changes and alterations as fairly fall within the spirit and scope of my invention.

Having fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In a three-roll cane-mill, the combination with bottom and top plates, and three rolls mounted between the same, of a turn-plate pivotally supported by the top plate, and bearing against the two smaller rolls, said top plate having an opening of a shape to permit the removal through it of the turn-plate, and a part carried by the upper end of the turnplate to normally cover said opening.

2. In a three-roll cane-mill, the combination with the mill-framework, one large and two small rolls therein, a gear on the large roll, a gear on each small roll meshing with the gear on the large roll, the first small roll havinga diameter approximately three-eighths of an inch less than the pitch-circle of its gear.

3. In a three-roll cane-mill, the combination with a mill-casing, of three vertical rolls in said casing, all of difierent diameters, and the largest roll constructed to squeeze the canes between the same, and both of the smaller rolls.

In testimony whereof I have signed this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

JOHN PORTER GOLDEN.

Witnesses:

C. C. CRowELL, N. L. DUDLEY. 

